Linksys E3000 by Cisco, Review


Since I wasn’t the right candidate to review the Cisco Valet, Cisco also decided to send me a router that was more up my alley.  Enter the Linksys E3000 (also made by Cisco).  I was so excited when this came in the mail.  Our previous router was also a Linksys, and it was still working perfectly, despite being a few years old.

I plugged in the router, and was really amazed at how easy the initial setup was.  I put the CD in my computer and it connected to the router and configured a secure network with a unique SSID (again the word you see when searching for networks to connect to on your wireless laptop).  Since I’m a more advanced user though, I immediately went to the web interface of the router to configure the network to MY specifications.

I logged on to the web interface, and was very familiar with it already as it was quite similar to our old router’s web interface.  The first thing I do when configuring a new network is change the Subnet.  This is the IP address range of the network.  So typically it will default to 192.168.0.1.  The network will then follow suit and assign IP addresses (the unique identifier to each device on your network) according to that range, so the first device on the network would be 192.168.0.100, then 192.168.0.101.  I like to change the range to make the network more secure, and to make sure it won’t conflict with other networks when I try to connect to a VPN (Virtual Private Network, which means I’m adding my computer to a network at my place of business even though the computer is still at my house).

After I change the subnet, I change the administrator password, and then I changed the SSID because while I love that they gave me a network name of SillyMonkey, I would rather have something different.  I set up everything exactly the way I wanted to, and then is when I ran into trouble.

The router defaults to having a guest network enabled.  Not that I don’t love my neighbors, but I wasn’t interested in handing out internet to my street.  So I went to turn off the guest network.  You can not do this from the web interface.  I remembered seeing it in the Cisco Connect software, so I went to that.  Except now I was no longer able to get into the Cisco Connect software because I had changed too many things in the advanced configuration.  This is a major flaw in the setup.  If the setting is not available in the Advanced Web interface, and I can ONLY set it in the software, I should be able to access the software to set it.  OR I should be able to change the setting in the advanced area.  I informed my contact at Cisco that this was a major flaw, and they informed me that they were aware of the issue, and were working on a fix for it.  I did, however, find a workaround on the internet (that is probably not the most recommended way to go, but it totally got me in).

Linksys E3000 Turn Off Guest Access after Advanced Setup…

  • (this is for advanced users only who will no doubt find this post when searching Google for a solution)
  • Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Cisco Systems\Cisco Connect\Settings (on a Windows 7 machine) right click on “settings.xml” and edit it in a notepad.  Change the SSID, WirelessPassword & Admin Password to whatever you set yours to in your advanced setup.
  • Save the file and you should be able to get back into the Cisco Connect software to turn off the Guest Network.

Now onto what the router does well!  First, before I plugged the router in, I downloaded the latest Pink album from my Zune Software.  It took 4 minutes for the entire album.  THEN I plugged the router in, and got it all set up.  I deleted the album from my computer and then downloaded the Clean Version of the album (that way it wasn’t the exact same download, but it would have the exact same file sizes.  I downloaded again… this time it took 2 1/2 minutes!  A FULL minute and a half quicker!

The E3000 has SIX internal antennas.  My previous router looked like an alien head with 2 antennas sticking out of the top.  The device itself looks GORGEOUS, and easily blends into the furniture so it’s not completely obvious that there is a router there.  We have several devices connected to this router including… Wii, PS3, Xbox, DirecTV, 4 (yes, even the 1 year old has his own computer, none of which are wired with a cord to the internet), and my daughter’s Blu-Ray player in her room, on the complete other side of the house and upstairs from the router.  All of the devices connected easily to the new router, and all have seen an internet performance increase.

I have been very happy with the E3000, and it works perfectly for the amount of traffic we send it’s way.  Don’t forget to enter the Cisco Valet giveaway!


This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive compensation if you make a purchase using the links.

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About the author

Sarah Werle Kimmel

Sarah Werle Kimmel is a digital parenting coach and family tech expert. She has spent the last 20 years of her career working as a Microsoft Certified IT Manager supporting over 100 small businesses. During that time she started Family Tech LLC to help families understand and manage the technology in their home. She has regularly appeared as a family tech expert on local NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX news affiliates, BYUtv and Studio 5, and has been invited all over the world from tech companies like Lenovo, Verizon, Microsoft, Dell, and Samsung. Find out more on her website SarahKimmel.com

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  • i just got the e1000 after my belkin crapped out on me for no good reason at all. i wanted the e3000 so maybe i’ll upgrade next year. thanks for the review! and also the tips for turning off that stupid guest access crap!

  • Very thorough review, I really enjoyed it! We have gone through 2 netgear routers in 1.5 years so we chose to spend a bit more money and get this one by Linksys and Cisco and I was very happy I did.

    My only cause for concern was that the CD Rom does not work with mac computers and there are no instructions in the box for how to install it on a mac. I had to plug my computer into my modem and go online to their FAQ to figure it out. As many people as have macs these days I was shocked at this oversight.

    Oh and their customer service is not fun to go through. When I was having troubles I was disappointed to learn the only option was chatting online, there was no phone number. That chat was slow (probably my connection) and caused me to get frustrated easier than if I was on the phone.

    BUT it works better than my Netgear and I am very happy with it. I would definitely suggest it to friends but I will tell all my Mac friends how to set it up first 🙂

  • Now that sounds like a router my husband would enjoy playing with .. ours is 5 or 6 years old, and while he gets a pretty good connection – mine on the other side of the wall and 25 or 30 feet away, struggles. Wonder what a “good” router would do?

  • I have installed many Linksys routers over the years and they are about as reliable as consumer routers get. The guest network feature built in the Cisco Connect does not play nice with all types of internet service. Don’t forget to make a backup file of the settings once you get it configured properly.

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